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Lamborghini Diablo VT - the sports car benchmark of the nineties

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Created on May 28, 2012

Reading time 6min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Lamborghini

Bonhams

Artcurial

Antoine Dellenbach

- Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Archiv

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Lamborghini

Bonhams

Artcurial

Antoine Dellenbach

- Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Archiv

62 1

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1995) - der Designer hinterliess seinen Schriftzug auf der Flanke

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - das Ur-Modell, ohne Spoiler, wie es Marcello Gandini entwarf

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - der neue von Marcello Gandini gezeichnete Sportwagen bei der Präsentation - Pressebild

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - Silhouette - Pressebild

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - Durchsichtszeichnung

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - Zeichnungen aus den Presseunterlagen

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - so wurde er präsentiert - Blick ins Interieur

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1993) - äusserlich identisch mit der zweiradangetriebenen Variante

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1993) - Interieur der vierradangetriebenen Variante

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Lamborghini Diablo SE (1994) - Sondermodell zum 30-jährigen Bestehen

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Lamborghini Diablo SE (1994) - Sondermodell zum dreissigjährigen Bestehen

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Lamborghini Diablo Iota (1995) - beflügelte Variante, die an den berühmten Miura Iota erinnert

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Lamborghini Diablo Roadster (1996) - die offene Variante

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Lamborghini Diablo SV (1996) - Interieur

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Lamborghini Diablo SV (1996) - Sicht von oben

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Lamborghini Diablo SV (1996) - Silhouette

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Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 (2001) - die ausklappbaren Lampen gehören der Vergangenheit an

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Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 (2001) - Interieur

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Eindrücke von Chantilly Arts & Elégance 2016 - Bunter Lamborghini Diablo

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Lamborghini Diablo Roadster VT 5.7 (1999) - als Lot 203 angeboten an der Artcurial Rétromobile Versteigerung am 5. Februar 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo SV (1997) - als Lot 134 an der Bonhams Goodwood Revival Versteigerung am 10. September 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1993) - als Lot 149 an der RM/Sotheby's London Versteigerung vom 7. September 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo (1999) - auf dem Stand der Autostadt - Techno Classica 2016

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70 Jahre Heckdesign - vom Bentley der Zwanzigerjahre über den Bugatti 35 bis zum Lamborghini Diablo - gesehen an der Techno Classica 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo Strosek (1994) - nicht verkauft - an der Dolder-Versteigerung der Oldtimer Galerie am 11. Juni 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo Strosek (1994) - Blau innen und ausssen - an der Dolder-Versteigerung der Oldtimer Galerie am 11. Juni 2016

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Summary

With the Lamborghini Diablo, the manufacturer from Sant'Agata built the sports car to beat in the 1990s. As a VT, the fast wedge even had all-wheel drive. The mid-engined sports car designed by Gandini was built for 11 years until it was replaced by the Murcielago. This report tells the story of the Diablo and describes driving impressions with the four-wheel drive VT, supplemented by current and contemporary pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

From Mimran to Chrysler
Presentation in 1990
A bull named Diablo as namesake
Further development of the Countach theme
Continuous evolution
More open, more powerful and faster
The ride in the super sports car
For trained calves
Further information

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

A super sports car with four-wheel drive was still exotic at the beginning of the 1990s. Although Porsche had already set the trend with the 959, it was still common for a sports car to be rear-wheel drive at that time. Lamborghini, however, presented the Diablo VT in 1991, and all-wheel drive appeared to be an effective means of making the "fastest production sports car in the world", as the manufacturer confidently described it, a little more manageable. Lamborghini could already look back on a long and eventful history when the Diablo was launched in 1990. Founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini, the company had catapulted itself into the super sports car Olympus in just a few years with the 350 GT, 400 GT and, in particular, the Miura. The edgy Countach, which replaced the Miura, was another milestone in 1971 and remained in production for almost 20 years.

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